


And Cauldron Bubble

by eafay70



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Established Relationship, M/M, Not Hockey Players (Hockey RPF)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2020-12-16 06:54:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21032072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eafay70/pseuds/eafay70
Summary: It's Halloween, so witches Sid and Geno perform their annual check of Pittsburgh's three rivers.





	And Cauldron Bubble

**Author's Note:**

  * For [secretsidgenowriter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/secretsidgenowriter/gifts).

> Dear secretsidgenowriter,  
I'm a fan of your works, so I was very excited and nervous to write for you. I sincerely hope you enjoy this!!
> 
> And, of course, I hope everyone else reading this enjoys it, too!
> 
> In case anyone was wondering: There was a new moon on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019. I don't think Halloween is significantly likelier to fall on any particular phase of the moon, but I personally associate spooky things with full moons, so I thought this contrast would be interesting for the fic.

It was Halloween, the night when magical mischief was easiest to spot. Witches had the duty of checking their local bodies of water for anything dangerous, such as curses or malevolent beings. In the event that something dangerous was found, the witches had to use their own bodies to dispel it from the water.

While a few witches had been born in Pittsburgh in recent years, no witch had been trained in Pittsburgh for several years. For this reason, its three rivers were currently cared for by two foreign witches who had moved to the city a decade and a half ago: Sidney of Canada (also known as Sid or Sidka) and Evgeni of Russia (also known as Geno or Zhenya).

Right now, Sid was waiting for his partner so they could get going: "Zhenya, we don't have all night."

"I know, Sidka. Just need..." He finally emerged with a large cauldron. "Found it!"

"How you forgot where you put it last year is beyond me," Sid chirped.

This prompted a snort from Geno. "I'm not forget where I'm put! Just forget that I'm move it when we renovate in spring."

"If you say so. Now come on. The sooner we get all three rivers checked, the safer I'll feel."

Geno smiled fondly. "Then let's go."

They stepped outside. Sid rested one hand on Geno's shoulder and used his other hand to grip at the air, sending both of them flying towards the Allegheny River. Once they landed on the pier, Geno set up the cauldron while Sid collected water from the river in his enchanted mason jar. "Nothing visibly remiss," he whispered.

"Nothing in air affecting cauldron," Geno whispered in reply. "Ready."

Sid slowly poured the water from the mason jar into the cauldron, where it hissed against the leaves specifically enchanted for this purpose. After about a second, bubbles began to appear. "Sprites," Sid scowled. "Knife?"

Geno took a Swiss army knife out of his pocket, handed it to Sid, and lowered his head. Sid carefully cut a lock of Geno's hair and held it tightly while Geno took the knife to cut one of Sid's curls. "Okay."

Sid took a large leaf from the pile and dropped the cut hair on it; Geno did the same. With a gentle touch, Sid folded the leaf so the hairs would bundle together and dropped it into the river. The water glowed softly for a few seconds. "Perfect," Sid declared. "Let's go."

"Yes, dear." Geno picked up the cauldron with an exaggerated groan. "Maybe you do this part next year."

Sid snorted as they flew to the Monongahela River's pier. "You know our magics are too different for that."

"Joke, Sidka." They landed and repeated the process of setting up the cauldron and collecting water. "Air's okay."

"The water isn't," Sid frowned. "It's turning orange in the jar."

Geno looked at it and furrowed his brow. "Poison magic?"

Sid nodded. "Ready?"

"Ready."

Sid poured the water into the cauldron, where it hissed and boiled. "Needs spit," he sighed.

Geno leaned over the cauldron and spat loudly. After Sid did the same, Geno tossed a handful of leaves into the cauldron, shook it, and dumped it into the river. This time, the river's glow was noticeably brighter and stayed visible for a full minute. "Why so weird this year?"

"Probably because Halloween's near a new moon, but who knows?" They flew to the pier of the Ohio River. "Good thing there's two of us to take care of all this."

"Very good thing there's two of us - not just for all this." Geno tried to set up the cauldron, but cursed in Russian as he struggled with the treated leaves. "Bad air."

Sid collected and examined the water. "Nothing wrong with this. You thinking dark harpies?"

"Yeah," Geno nodded. He waited for Sid to pour the water into the cauldron, where it hissed but didn't bubble. "Knife again."

They repeated the ritual of cutting locks of hair and wrapping it in a leaf, but this time the leaf was dropped into the cauldron before being dumped into the river. The glow was much brighter this time and didn't disappear for about five minutes.

"Let's go home," Sid whispered. He didn't say anything else until they'd flown back to their bedroom. "Put the cauldron somewhere easier to remember and get to, please. I'd rather not stress over that again next year."

"I do tomorrow," Geno said, placing it on the floor. He held out his arms. "Come here, Sidka. You shaking like leaf."

"Sorry," Sid whispered into Geno's chest. "I just...what if we weren't enough tonight?"

"We were enough tonight." Geno nuzzled Sid's hair fondly. "We're handle everything. All over now for another year - okay to relax now."

Sid let out a shuddering breath. "I hope you're right."

"Always am."

This prompted a loud snort from Sid. "The first year you did this with me, you said it was a one-time deal because you were needed back in Russia."

"Always right when important," Geno amended. 

"I suppose." Sid moved his head so he could look at Geno's face properly. "What if it's not just because of the new moon, though? Last year was worse than the year before, wasn't it?"

"It was," Geno acknowledged. "Last year you're ask old teacher and he say normal when out-of-town witches do for long time, remember?"

"I remember," Sid nodded. "We should probably do a better job of looking for apprentices this winter. Having someone born and trained in Pittsburgh will be better for the rivers in the long run."

Geno nodded. "Try to worry a little less, Sidka. Be happy we did good job."

"I am happy, I promise - but I will try to worry a little less." Sid smiled softly. "Have I mentioned lately that I love you?"

"You're mention at breakfast, lunch, and dinner," Geno said with a smile. "But always okay to say again."

"Good." Sid gave him a kiss. "I love you very much, Zhenya."

"And I love you, too, Sid."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Title is inspired by the Scottish play. ;)
> 
> My heartfelt thanks to J for beta reading this!!


End file.
